Vaqueros Win First WAC Tourney Game

LAS VEGAS – Fourth-seeded The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team hit 15 of its first 18 shots to win its first-ever Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament game by beating fifth-seeded CSU Bakersfield 85-70 in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Orleans Arena.

UTRGV (19-15) advances to the semifinals to face top-seed New Mexico State on Friday at 8 p.m. The winner of that game will play for the WAC Tournament Championship on Saturday with a chance to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

With 19 wins, UTRGV is now in the midst of its winningest season since 2001-02, when the team won 20 games, and the 12th winningest season in program history.

UTRGV recorded 10 steals to increase its season total to a program record 323, breaking the previous record of 315 set in 1977-78.

The score was tied at 2 after one minute. UTRGV scored the next 12 points, capped by a dunk and a three by Jackson to go up 14-2.

Then, with the score 17-9, Bowie hit a three, a free throw and a jumper to power an 11-0 run to put UTRGV up 28-9.

UTRGV led by as much as 22 in the first half, including 37-15 on a layup by junior Lesley Varner II with 5:42 remaining.

CSU Bakersfield cut the lead to 15 at halftime and then got as close as seven in the second half at 62-55 with 8:54 to play. That’s when Winn and Smith converted back-to-back three-point plays, graduate student Solomon Hainna made a jumper, Smith added two more free throws and then Levi drove to the lane for a layup to push UTRGV’s lead back into double-figures for the rest of the game.